Monday, May 28, 2007

Rhubarb Ripple Cake

Every since I got hold of Liz Franklin's Quick Breads I've kept returning to one recipe in particular - a mix of raspberries, white chocolate and almond. Just by the ingredients you know that it's going to be delicious.

Since I didn't have any fresh raspberries but I did have some stewed rhubarb sitting in the fridge I decided it might be worth while tweaking the recipe a little to incorporate the rhubarb and in the process created something a bit different.

In the original recipe the raspberries and white chocolate are sprinkled over the top of the cake before it's placed in the oven. For this version I've incorporated the chocolate into the mix itself, then poured out half of the batter into the tin - topped it with the stewed rhubarb that is then covered with the remaining batter. For a final touch I added just a little more stewed rhubarb over the cake top before placing it in the oven to cook.

When you slice it you get this lovely ripple effect through the centre of the cake and small chunks of white chocolate through the cake.

Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and creamy.

Lightly whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract with a fork and then add it, a little at a time to the creamed mixture. Make sure you stop and scrap down the sides of the bowl to make sure it's properly incorporated.

Once the eggs have all been added, stir in the flour, almond meal and milk.

Spoon out about half the batter into the loaf pan and roughly smooth the surface - top this with most of the stewed rhubarb (leave a little aside for the cake top).

Top with the remaining batter and smooth the surface - spread over the remaining rhubarb, pushing it slightly into the batter.

Place in the oven and cook for about 70 minutes or until it's golden brown and cooked through. If you feel it's browning too quickly, cover with foil.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Because of the nature of the stewed rhubarb and the white chocolate, this is quite a moist cake - but as it cools and the chocolate sets it will lose a little of it's initial stickiness.

Haalo, that looks so nice and moist. Funnily enough, I made a rhubarb ripple cake, but it was a "diet" version that uses yogurt and also apples. Hopefully I can find the time to post the recipe. hmmm...but I like your idea of white choc.